Always
by KefGurl47
Summary: Takes place directly after Ziva leaves the Directors office at the end of Revenge. I needed to write fluff...so that's what this is. TIVA. Spoilers for Revenge.


**A/N**. You can say _Revenge_ wasn't my favorite episode, so I needed to write something fluffy. This is what I managed to crank out. Please read, review, and let me know what you think.

**Disclaimer**: if they were mine…Revenge would have been a lot different.

* * *

"_Is it over?"_

"_It's over."_

* * *

Ziva walked out of the Directors office to head back down to her desk. She grabbed the small gym bag and proceeded to the women's restroom. Ziva was strong. She had always been strong. She would not cry.

Tony and McGee had been sitting at their desks when Ziva came and went. He looked at McGee, silently telling him what he was doing, before getting up and heading in after Ziva. They've never cared about walking into the opposite sexes bathroom.

When Tony opened the door he saw Ziva facing the mirror leaning over with her hands on the counter, crying. He walked in closer and it wasn't until the moment he was right behind her did she finally look up at him in the mirror.

Tony gently put his hands on her shoulders, careful not to hurt her anymore than she already was. He turned her around so she was facing him and he proceeded to wrap his arms around her and pull her against himself. To his surprise, she didn't pull back. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her head against his chest and cried, harder than she was before.

He could not figure out why she was crying. Was she sad that Bodnar was dead? Was she in that much pain? Was she scared of what happened next? Tony couldn't pin down exactly what was causing his strong, beautiful, ninja like Ziva to cry.

A few minutes later she began to calm down and she leaned back against the counter, arms still around his waist.

"You ok?" Tony finally asked, breaking the silence.

"No, but I do not know why. Ilan is dead; I should be happy, right?"

"It doesn't bring your father back."

"I know. Tony…"

"What Ziva. You know you can tell me anything right?"

For the first time that night she had a soft smile on her face.

"I know, Tony. You know I did not intend on killing Ilan tonight, right? I only intended on taking him down enough until you arrived. I knew you would not be too far behind once you realized I left…"

"You should have waited for us, Ziva. We would have come. I would have come with you."

"It was something that I needed to do alone. Ilan was like my brother growing up, my father mentored him. Taught him everything he knew. He not only killed my father, but betrayed me. We are lucky, Tony. That accident, it could have been so much worse. I could not imagine what I would do if it would have turned out differently. I cannot lose you. I did not want to put you in danger."

Ziva had a few tears running down her face that Tony leaned in closer and gently wiped away with his thumb, careful not to press too hard over her bruises and scratches.

"Ziva… You can't run off without backup because I can't lose you. Not again. I wouldn't survive without you in my life…"

Ziva lifted up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, lingering longer than considered friendly.

"You are the bravest, sweetest, funniest, and most amazing man, Tony."

"What were you going to say? In the car before the crash?"

Ziva took a deep breath before answering.

"I was going to say thank you. For coming to Berlin with me and having my back. I know I do not always deserve you, Tony. But you are always there. So I was going to say thank you and I was going ask you if you wanted to watch a movie and maybe get some take out, since we had not eaten."

"Can we do that tonight? Once Homeland finds out you killed Bodnar all hell is going to rain down on all of us…"

"I will take responsibility. I am the one to blame. I am ready for whatever punishment I get."

"Not a chance in hell, Ziva. We're all going to have your back. We, as a team, will not go down without a fight and we will not let you take the blame. Understand?"

Ziva nodded, but still was not completely convinced.

"So that movie and take out?" Tony questioned again.

"Yes. I think I need something to take my mind off of tonight."

"Happy to be of service. Let's get you cleaned up."

Tony finally let go of his hold on Ziva to reach over and grab some paper towels, running them under some warm water. Ziva was still facing towards Tony so he decided to gently wipe off the dirt and blood from her face. He lightly moved the paper towel over her cheek.

"Is this ok? Does it hurt?"

She shook her head. It didn't matter. Tony knew her better than anyone. The pain was written across her face.

He continued cleaning up her face until all the dirt and blood was cleaned off. She had many cuts and bruises all over her face, her hair was ratted and she looked like she had been through hell, but to Tony she never look so beautiful.

"You're beautiful? You know that?"

She couldn't help but smile again. He had a way at making her do that.

"Thank you, Tony."

Ziva changed her clothes and brushed out her hair in comfortable silence with Tony still standing near her. Once she was finished cleaning herself up, Ziva placed her dirty, torn up clothes back in her gym bag and zipped it up. She gently grabbed and squeezed Tony's hand before walking out of the bathroom, in which he followed her.

Keys in hand she headed straight to the elevator.

"Goodnight McGee."

"Night Ziva. Glad you're ok."

She smiled and kept walking.

Tony stopped at his desk to grab his gym bag, which contained his workout clothes, knowing he would want to be more comfortable while watching the movie.

"You leaving to, Tony?"

"Yep. See you tomorrow."

McGee just smiled and nodded as Tony followed Ziva and got into the elevator. He took the keys from her when they arrived in the parking garage, telling her that she has had a long rough day. She didn't argue. Instead she climbed in the passenger's seat and closed her eyes on the way to her apartment.

* * *

When Tony and Ziva arrived at her apartment, Tony immediately ordered take out while Ziva went into the kitchen to get a couple beers. When she came back he was searching through her small movie collection.

"Quite a collection you have here, Zi."

"Yes. Well, I do not watch a lot of movies."

Tony skimmed through the ten movies she had, only a few of which were in English. He settled on the Sound of Music, knowing she needed some cheering up and this just happened to be her favorite movie.

"What movie did you pick?" Ziva asked as she was relaxing back on the couch.

"_Sound of Music._" Tony replied with a smile.

"I love this movie."

"I know." Getting a smile out of Ziva.

He placed it in the DVD player and sat next to her on the couch, just far enough away where they weren't touching.

About 10 minutes into the movie their take out arrived. Tony paused the movie as he got up to get the door. He paid the delivery boy and brought it back over to the couch.

"I could have paid, Tony. At least half of it."

"Don't worry about it."

He smiled as he sat back next to her on the couch, dishing out the food.

They turned the movie back on as they ate, only to pause it 20 minutes later when Ziva decided to clean up.

When she came back she sat closer to Tony than she had been before, allowing their thighs and shoulder to press up against each other. She pressed play on the remote and began to relax, trying to forget about most everything that has happened in the past 48 hours. The only thoughts she focused on were Tony holding her hand in the car before the crash and how he held her tight just an hour or so ago. She felt safe when she was with him; protected. Nothing else seemed to matter when she was holding his hand or hugging him tight. Ziva wanted to feel his warmth again. She cautiously leaned against his shoulder, not knowing how sore he still was from the accident. It wasn't until he lifted he arm and put it around her did she fully relax into his side, curling up and leaning her head on his chest.

"I could get used to this." Tony said, not realizing he had said it out loud.

"So could I." Ziva replied, smiling and tucking herself in closer to her partner.

"You could what?"

"Get used to this. You make me feel safe, Tony. There is no place I'd rather be right now than here."

Tony leaned down and kissed the top of her head, causing Ziva to look up. As they gazed into each other's eyes, they slowly moved closer to one another, simultaneously closing their eyes.

Tony's had come up to cup Ziva's cheek as their lips met in a soft yet loving kiss. When they pulled back and opened their eyes, their faces immediately lit up with happiness. Tony leaned back in and kissed her again and again.

"I could definitely get use to this." Tony said with a smile on his face, but noticed Ziva had a look of worry across hers.

"What's wrong?"

"What will happen tomorrow?"

"Between us? Ziva, I want us to be something more. For so long now, Ziva, it has been just you. You're the only one that I want to be with. That won't change tomorrow and it won't change no matter what happens in the future."

"I want to be with you too, Tony." She smiled as she leaned up and pressed a kiss against his lips.

"But I mean, what is going to happen when Homeland finds out I killed Bodnar? How is it going to work now?"

"Well. I don't know. But I know that we all have your back. Gibbs, McGee, Abby, Ducky, Jimmy, Vance...me. Ziva, none of us are going to betray you. You know that right?"

"Yes, I know."

"Good. Just, don't worry about it tonight. Please?"

"Okay."

Tony couldn't keep his mind off of Ziva during the rest of the movie. He wasn't sure that it was the right time to tell her how he feels, but he knew there would never be a right time. After the movie ended he had finally worked up enough courage to just tell her.

"Ziva…"

He looked over to see that she was sound asleep at his side. He sighed, knowing he would find another chance sometime soon. He turned the DVD player and TV off and gently got up, lifting her into his arms to take her to bed. He placed her in her bed and tucked her in, placing a feather light kiss to her forehead.

"Goodnight beautiful."

He began to walk out to sleep on the couch, knowing that it was too late and he drove her car here.

"Tony? Stay, please?"

"Always." He smiled as he climbed into the other side of her bed and moved in close to her, but still giving her space to decide what to do with it. She rolled over and tucked herself into his side with her arm slung across his waist. Careful of her still healing body, he wrapped his arm around her and placed another kiss to her forehead before falling asleep. It was the first night they had both actually slept since leaving Berlin.

**End.**


End file.
